Jackson Free Press

Jackson State University released the following statement regarding the dismissal of a sexual harassment lawsuit against Athletic Director Vivian Fuller:

U.S. District Judge William H. Barbour, Jr., on March 13 dismissed the sexual harassment lawsuit filed against Jackson State University, JSU Director of Athletics Dr. Vivian L. Fuller and JSU President Carolyn W. Meyers by former JSU employee Lolita Ward.

According to the ruling, the court “found that Ward has failed to show that there exists genuine issues of material fact with respect to any of the claims alleged in her amended complaint.”

University Communications Executive Director Eric Stringfellow said university officials applauded the court’s decision.

“Since the beginning of the case, our position has been that the lawsuit was without merit. The U.S. District Court’s dismissal of Lolita Ward’s lawsuit vindicates the university,” Stringfellow said.

When the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigated Ward’s allegations, the federal agency determined it was unable to conclude that the information obtained established violations of any statutes.

Dick Hall, the Central District commissioner to the Mississippi Transportation Commission, had a little surprise for Jackson Mayor Tony Yarber today.

Well, not exactly little.

It was a $3 million check for Mill Street reconstruction. Hall grew up in Fondren and said he wanted Mill, which runs from downtown northward to Fondren, to be restored to its heyday.

The presentation came at the end of a press conference to announce at $16.5 million federal DOT grant to Jackson for a North State Street project, from Sheppard Road to Hartfield Street. The project will also include a portion of West County Line Road in the Tougaloo community.

Yarber said both the North State Street and Mill Street projects are part of the 1-percent sales tax master plan, which he said would free up funds for other projects in the plan.

The fund currently contains approximately $21 million; Yarber said his administration expects to recommend a project manager to the city council in the next few weeks.

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2015/oct/28/23394/

Mayor Tony Yarber reiterated during a press conference at City Hall Wednesday night that the city’s drinking water system is safe, while at the same time mentioning meetings with Jackson Public Schools superintendent about needed renovations to the corrosion control system.

“I spent a little time today with the superintendent,” the mayor said. “He and I will wrap around. I wanted to make sure that I meet with the team so that…the message will be uniform.”

The city also discussed the possible repair plan to the corrosion control system, estimating the total cost at around $500,000. Director of Public Works Kishia Powell said the city applied for a grant to pay for the repairs but did add that if the money did not come from outside sources, it would come out of the city budget.

Read more about the city of Jackson and the Mississippi State Department of Health's statements on lead levels here.

Note: This post was reported and written by Tim Summers Jr.

VERBATIM:Attorney General Jim Hood announced today that a Jackson man was arrested Friday for bribery of a public official and conspiracy following a joint investigation by the Attorney General’s Office and the FBI.

Robert Henderson, 44, is accused of offering a former Hinds County assistant district attorney $500 in exchange for dismissal of charges against three criminal defendants. Henderson is charged with one count of bribery of a public official and one count of conspiracy to bribe a public official. Henderson was booked into the Hinds County Jail. Hinds County Justice Court Judge Frank Sutton set Henderson's bond at $5,000 for bribery of a public official and $5,000 for conspiracy for a total of $10,000.

Henderson is alleged to have offered the bribe to then-Hinds County Assistant DA Ivon Johnson on or about June 15 of this year. Henderson is accused of seeking Johnson’s assistance in having cases dismissed involving three criminal defendants.

As with all cases, a charge is merely an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Don't trust everything you hear. Make sure "reliable sources" are actually reliable.

Mississippi State traveled to Gainesville, Fla. to square off against one of the top teams in the SEC. In a series between two highly ranked teams, the Bulldogs seemed to face an uphill climb, as the University of Florida hadn’t lost at home this season and were on a 28-home game winning streak.

Florida struck down MSU in the first game 8-2 on Friday night, April 8, pushing the team's winning streak to 29 straight home wins. The Bulldogs bounced back Saturday for a 10-4 win, breaking that streak.

That left a rubber game to win the series on Sunday and the first time all season the Bulldogs needed to win the final game so they could win an SEC series this season. MSU battled its way to a 2-1 win to take the series from the Gators, who in some polls were ranked No. 1 in the country.

The series win for the Diamond Dogs was the first at Florida since 2007. MSU improved to 23-9-1 on overall and 8-4 in SEC play.

By defeating Florida, the Bulldogs have now won four straight SEC series at the beginning of conference play. MSU started the week with a 14-0 win over the University of Tennessee at Martin.

In conference play, MSU leads Texas A&M University (7-5) by a game in the SEC West standings as the Aggies come to Starkville for Super Bulldog Weekend. MSU leads Louisiana State University (6-6), the University of Alabama (6-6) and the University of Mississippi (6-6) by two games.

Overall in the SEC, MSU is tied with Florida and the University of Kentucky at 8-4 in conference play. The University of South Carolina has the best record in the conference at 10-2 and doesn’t play the Bulldogs this season.

The national polls noticed the Bulldogs' series win over the weekend.

Mississippi State moved up two spots from No. 10 to No. 8 in the USA Today Baseball Top 25 Coaches Poll.

Perfectgame.org moved them up from No. 8 to No. 3 in its poll.

Baseball America and D1Baseball.com pushed MSU from No. 5 all the way to No. 2 in their new polls.

While the new rankings are great for the Bulldogs, players, coaches and fans need to remember that baseball is a marathon and not a sprint. MSU still has some big games and series left this season.

For starters, the Bulldogs play Texas A&M this weekend and then go to LSU the next weekend. MSU meets UM at Trustmark Park for the Governor's Cup on April 26.

The Bulldogs hit the road to battle Alabama after meeting the Rebels in the middle of the week. MSU finishes the SEC part of the schedule with a home series against the University of Missouri, a road series against Auburn University and at home against the University of Arkansas.

While it is tempting to look …

This week in the [JFP we went streaking][1] (figuratively not literally, no one wants to see that) in the look back portion of our weekly look at college football in Mississippi. Looking forward this is an interesting week.

Currently there are 11 undefeated teams in college football. Louisville stayed undefeated after escaping at home against Cincinnati on Friday night with their 34-31 win. Only 10 of the undefeated teams have any hope of playing in a BCS game. Ohio State is undefeated but ineligible for a bowl game this season because of NCAA sanctions.

The official Great American Grump Out is today, May 2, and participants must vow not to be grumpy for the next 24 hours. Can you handle it?

Appeals court upholds decision that DOMA is unconstitutional.

The Attorney General is requesting that the Mississippi State Supreme Court set an execution date for Willie Jerome Manning on or before April 24.

Gov. Bryant has vetoed HB 1584, which proposes giving governing authority to a reservoir board.

Former mayoral candidate and Chokwe Lumumba supporter Regina Quinn contacted two of the three independent candidates asking them to drop out of the June 4 general election to select Jackson's next mayor.

Councilman Chokwe Lumumba won the Democratic runoff earlier this week, defeating businessman Jonathan Lee by more than 3,000 votes.

Friday morning, Quinn released this statement to the JFP:

"After witnessing the brutal run-off between Mr. Lee and Mr. Lumumba, I came to the conclusion that the City had had enough and needed to start the healing process sooner rather than later. Therefore, I contacted two of the three independent candidates to see if they agreed with me that it would be best for the City of Jackson to acknowledge that with 20,000 plus votes people had decided who they wanted as their next mayor, and that it was now time to start healing. If I erred, it was an error of the head but not of the heart."

"Apparently, the healing process will have to wait until June 4, 2013," she added.

The independent candidates are Francis P. Smith Jr., Cornelius Griggs and Richard C. Williams Jr.

Jackson Ward 1 Councilman Quentin Whitwell will retire this fall, WLBT reports.

Whitwell told WLBT's Cheryl Lasseter today that he would submit a letter of resignation to the city clerk; the resignation would be effective Oct. 31, the station said.

Lasseter: "Whitwell cites family commitments in Oxford and increasing demands from his professional life as reasons for his decision. He tells us he has tremendous respect for the City of Jackson and its leaders, and he believes the city deserves a Ward 1 Councilman who can dedicate maximum time and resources to the position. He is currently in his second term with the City Council."

After he steps down, the city would have to hold a special election to fill his northeast Jackson seat. Ward 3 Councilwoman LaRita Cooper-Stokes is also running for Hinds County judge in the November general election.

Jackson has already held one special election this year to fill the Ward 6 council seat that Tony Yarber vacated when he won election to Jackson mayor.

Sen. Josh Harkins, R-Flowood, is touching up a bill that proposes to change the Jackson airport commission structure. Harkins told the Jackson Free Press he will likely file his bill on Monday or Tuesday next week, which will change who appoints and who qualifies to serve on the airport's governing body.

The current commission is made up of five members, all appointed by the Jackson mayor. Harkins' bill will require the commission to include members from Madison, Rankin and city of Jackson. Harkins is still working on the details, but he said it is important for some commissioners to have aviation and business experience.

Jackson-based legislators have vocalized their distaste for the proposed bill, as well as Jackson business leaders calling the bill an attempted "takeover." Harkins said the city of Jackson will not suffer financially from the plan.

David Banner, a Mississippi hip-hop artist, music producer and film actor, who got his start in here in Jackson, is bringing his "GodBox" lecture series to Jackson in March. Brad "Kamikaze" Franklin, who books events for the City of Jackson, announced the performance today on his Facebook page. Banner and Franklin started out as a hip-hop duo in the late 1990s.

Here is Franklin's post, verbatim:

Jackson! Gonna give you a heads up. The City of Jackson is about to bring you more ‪#‎dopeness‬ Tomorrow we will be announcing that on March 8th David Banner will be bringing his GodBox Lecture Series to Thalia Mara Hall. Tickets go on sale Thursday. And....The City of Jackson and XperienceJXN will join forces to bring you FLOETRY! Live May 14. Tickets go on sale tomorrow! More info tomorrow Welcome to the Entertainment Capital of MS!

Read a 2003 interview I did with David Banner, much earlier in both our careers.

Rolling into the South Carolina primary this weekend, here's a visual look at some of the polling data.

While former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is favored by a significant margin (59-40), it is interesting to see the older candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, with stronger support among the youngest voters.

Sanders polls at 63% among 18-29 voters and 55% of 30-44 voters, according to the YouGov/CBS News poll.

Clinton swings back with 69% of the over-45 vote among Democratic primary votes.

This afternoon Gov. Phil Bryant signed SB 2161 into law. The bill amends the Mississippi Charter Schools Act of 2013 to allow students who live in C, D and F districts to cross district lines to enroll in charter schools.

Currently, the only two charter schools in the state are open in the city of Jackson. Jackson Public Schools Chief Financial Officer Sharolyn Miller said today at a public hearing on public education funding held by the Black Legislative Caucus in conjunction with House and Senate Democrats that charter schools billed JPS's local tax contributions $565,000 for the 221 JPS students enrolled this school year.

“The law requires that for every child who goes to a charter school who lives in Jackson, we have to send a certain amount of dollars to fund charter schools," she said at the hearing this morning.

Sierra Mannie is an education reporting fellow for the Jackson Free Press and the Hechinger Report. Email her at [email protected].

Today, Gov. Phil Bryant declared October "Racial Reconciliation Celebration Month," only six months after he declared April "Confederate Heritage Month" earlier this year.

Gov. Bryant's declaration is in coordination with Mission Mississippi, a religious racial reconciliation organization, that is hosting a series of events in October to promote "the unifying message of racial reconciliation and healing that can enhance and improve the lives of citizens, businesses and communities in Mississippi," the proclamation states.

Racial Reconciliation Celebration Month is "to encourage all of our citizens to collaboratively and faithfully join Mission Mississippi in the work of promoting racial reconciliation and healing and to bring about unity throughout Mississippi."

Read the full proclamation here.

Last year, the organizers of the boisterous and well-attended annual Mississippi Picnic in Central canceled it in the wake of House Bill 1523's passage.

"Any law such as HB 1523 that discriminates against even a single member of our community cannot be tolerated, and therefore we have decided to stand up for all Mississippians by canceling the 2016 picnic in the park," organizers wrote in a statement last year.

Now, the picnic that started in 1980 seems to be gone forever. The New York Mississippi Society, which runs the picnic, posted this today on its website: "The 36 years of the Mississippi Picnics has been wonderful and a positive thing for all those involved but with the competition of funding sources and the rising costs and complexity of putting this event together, The New York Society regrets to announce that there are no plans for any future picnics."

Read more about HB 1523 and its effects here.